Batman/Spider-Man: Secret Weapon [DEFENDERS OF EARTH BOOK III]

The Hunt

As soon as Spawn blew the door off its hinges, they were met with a plethora of gunfire. Batman and Spider-Man rolled out of the way, but Spawn held his ground. He held his spiked gauntlets in front of him, protecting him from a majority of the bullets. The bullets were clearly hurting him by the way he was flinching every time one stray bullet hit his chest or arm or leg, but he didn't back down.
He was truly a magnificent sight.
He grew tired of being pestered by bullets, and lashed out. The first gunman he hit as he pounced, and Spawn rolled across the floor, hurling an energy ball from his hand, blasting a group of three into the wall. He moved incredibly quickly to the next group of four, punching and kicking his way through them. The last one held a gun to his head, about to pull the trigger. Spawn grabbed the barrel of the gun for a few seconds, and let go. The gunman staggered back, and aimed at Spawn again. The end was a burning orange- but he didn't notice that. He fired, and the gun exploded, blowing off part of his hand. Batman narrowed his eyes. He moved forwards to him.
"Simmons." Batman said. "You could've handled that a number of different ways and it wouldn't have ended like that." And he nodded to the screaming gunman.
"True." The HellSpawn answered, rubbing his knuckles. "But the bastard held a gun to my head. Didn't really want to give him an easy way out."
Batman stepped closer now- he was right in his face. "I Know someone like you." He said at last.
Spawn laughed. "I don't think you know anyone like me, Bat. Just get me to the son of a bitch who runs this place and we don't have to see each other again."
He barged past him and down the corridor. Spider-Man walked to Batman's shoulder.
"He's a problem." He said.
"A very powerful one." Batman answered. "I almost fear what he can do."
"Almost?"
"At heart, he's still a human. With that he can be defeated."
"A human..." Spidey repeated slowly. "Just a very dead one. You sure he isn't the apocalypse scenario you were telling me about on the Empire State?"
"No." Batman replied, walking down the corridor to follow Spawn. "But he would be a great asset to us when... 'if' it comes."
"And he wasn't before?"
Batman turned to him, confused. "What are you talking about?"
"They had him on a leash before, why did we come with the sole intent of freeing him?"
"Because nobody should be dragged into this." Batman gritted his teeth. "Al Simmons should have a choice whether he fights against whatever comes next- we can't force people to fight for us."
They rounded the corner to see Spawn leaning against a heavily-fortified door, waiting for them. "You're slow." He commented.
"You're just hasty." Spidey replied, as they walked up to him.
"I have reason to be. I want that man dead and I want out of here, and I don't want to stay in this facility any longer than I have already." Spawn explained.
Batman nodded to the door. "What's through there?"
"The lead scientist is hiding down in a vault underneath the facility." He replied.
"And how do you know that?" Peter questioned.
"He talks." Spawn replied. "He talks to the other scientists when he thinks I'm unconscious."
"Happen to catch his name?" Batman asked.
"No- he was just referred to as 'sir' by the others. Now, let's get this door down."
He dug his claws into the metal, pulling the door open with force. A staircase led further down into the ground, lit only by dim blue lights. Batman was the first to move forwards, with Spawn and Spidey following. They walked down the stairs in complete silence, and when they reached the bottom, saw a group of guards running at them. They drew their weapons, and aimed at their heads. Batman threw a Batarang at the lead one, disarming him. He then proceeded to kick him in the face, sending him flying backwards. Spidey webbed another towards him and struck him with his fist. The last two went to shoot, and Batman and Spider-Man prepared themselves.
However, from behind them came two chains, gliding through the air with no guidance. They snared themselves around the their necks, and pulled the guards to Spawn. He punched one across the room and shoved the other's head into the wall. Batman and Spidey stared for a moment.
"Okay, how?" Peter questioned. The chains then snaked back to Spawn, wrapping themselves around his chest.
"I-I don't know." Al admitted. "They're like... extensions of myself. I wanted to grab their necks, and the chains went for them."
"Your power is being reawakened." Batman speculated. "Slowly, but it is."
"Too slow." Spawn grumbled. "But now is not the time to stop and converse."
Spidey nodded his head. "I agree, actually. This 'sir' must know we're coming for him- he could be escaping right now. We can't keep stopping."
The three continued onwards, through bendy corridors with guards in firing positions. The intelligent ones ran as soon as they saw the angered HellSpawn. The others did not. Every time, Spawn's chains would send men flying or his palms would generate enough light to temporarily blind a group of them. His powers were truly a sight to behold.
They passed a room named 'Defence Management', and Batman frowned. He stopped, and the other two stopped too.
"What is it now?" Spawn asked.
"This must be the room where they operate all of the defences to the base." Batman said. "Which means in here, I can take down the turrets and whatever's blocking my predator vision."
"Must we do this now?" The HellSpawn said impatiently.
"We won't be going anywhere off this base if we don't remove the turrets." Batman explained. "You two go ahead, I'll catch up."
He kicked the door down, and was met by a sudden surprise round of gunfire. He rolled I got the room, throwing flash-bangs and Batarangs. Spawn and Spider-Man turned around.
"He's an ordinary man." Spawn said. "And yet he's running into situations like a super-powered being."
"Trust me, Al, he's not an ordinary man."